Chapter 1 - Recent advances in consumer research

Summary

This chapter reviews the most relevant trends in consumer science from a methodological perspective, starting from a historical standpoint and highlighting the main areas of development and discussing the whys. Among the topics reviewed are the shift from standardised sensory description to consumer-based feedback; going beyond hedonics towards more complex, interdisciplinary food choice models that take into account context, situation, consumer attitudes and values; emotional research; the study of the extended eating experience (food behaviour, wellbeing). In addition, this chapter discusses the more recent focus of the discipline on sustainability (dietary shift and food waste reduction), as well as the need to adopt a food systems perspective. Methodological advancements include new approaches to qualitative and quantitative consumer research, adapting methods from psychology, behavioural economics and the use of non-directed and implicit methods, as well as considering heuristics in food choice. When it comes to new technologies to investigate consumers perception, the use of face reading, eye tracking and biometrics like EEG and fMRI have become more widespread in the last years, together with immersive techniques and virtual reality approaches. This chapter also reviews the importance of planning specific studies and applications with special populations from a socioeconomic perspective and from a cognitive perspective. Another new approach in the field has been the involvement of consumers in research and innovation, through co-creation and other methods. Based on the most recent trends, the future and remaining challenges in consumer science are discussed as concluding remarks. As an introductory chapter, we detail the chapters that look in depth into the different areas of consumer science in the two volumes of this book.

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DOI : doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-443-222...
NVA : hdl.handle.net/11250/5572837